Towards the inclusion of wave-ice interactions in large-scale models for the Marginal Ice Zone

A wave-ice interaction model for the marginal ice zone (MIZ) is reported, which involves both the attenuation of ocean surface waves by sea ice and the concomitant breaking of the ice by waves. It is specifically designed to embed wave-ice interactions in an operational ice/ocean model for the first time. We investigate different methods of including the wave forcing, and different criteria for determining if they cause floes to break. We also investigate and discuss the effects of using various attenuation models, finding that predicted MIZ widths are quite sensitive to the choice of model. Additional sensitivity tests are performed on: (i) different parameterizations of the floe size distribution (FSD), including the initial FSD used; (ii) the properties of the wave field; and (iii) the sea ice properties such as concentration, thickness and breaking strain. Results are relatively insensitive to FSD parameterization but vary noticeably and systematically with its initial configuration, as they do with properties (ii–iii). An additional, somewhat surprising sensitivity, is the degree of influence of the numerical scheme that performs wave attenuation and advection. This is because a näıve implementation of spatial and temporal discretizations can cause the waves to be over-attenuated, leading to a reduction of the predicted MIZ width by a substantial factor. Example simulations intended to represent conditions in the Fram Strait in 2007, which exploit reanalyzed wave and ice model data, are shown to conclude the results section. These compare favorably to estimates of MIZ width using concentrations obtained from remotely-sensed passive microwave images.